Alumnus calls Wisbey to ‘honor constituent parents’

Warren LeRoi Johns practiced law as a career in California, Maryland, and the District of Columbia until partial retirement in the summer of 1992. Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1963, he has been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His non-fiction Dateline Sunday, U.S.A., drew national attention as a legal history documenting blue law confrontation with the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment. His 1999 Ride to Glory targeted some of evolution’s more obvious shortfalls while the 2007 Beyond Forever documented and analyzed, from a lawyer’s perspective, what Darwin himself described as “holes” and “flaws” in his theory.

A 1958 graduate of the University of Southern California’s Law Center, and holder of La Sierra University’s 1994 “Alumnus of the Year” award, the authorâ€™s professional resume appears in Who’s Who in American Law; Whoâ€™s Who in America; and Who’s Who in the World.

10 thoughts on “Alumnus calls Wisbey to ‘honor constituent parents’”

Last week I had opportunity to review the two-hour disk of your October, 2009 appearance on 3ABN. Previously, I’ve read some of your material defending the Genesis account of creation and been impressed with the articulate skill in your presentations. After seeing you in action on the disk, I was touched by the gentle Christian spirit displayed and concluded your ministry is a timely blessing to a very needy and confused world.

The LSU reality represents a tragic display of egocentric human minds falling for the same “wisdom” bate that deceived Eve. While personally independent regarding a variety of theological issues, when it comes to the authority of Scripture and the absolute certainty of the Genesis account of creation, I see the mireacle of creation as a core component of Christian faith, central to Christ’s ministry.

For the past 15 of my retirement years, I’ve explored the evidence of origins, with a serious effort to keep an open mind, and have concluded Darwinian thought, with its Modern Theory derivative, a deceptive sham. Since our mutual friend Wes Kime made me aware of the LSU issue and your scholarship, I’ve been in touch with a variety of key church executives, offering my personal perspective of the issue and also providing a recommendation or two, suggesting a methodology for fine-tuning church college curricula to match the Biblical foundation of Christian faith.

In the near future, a reviewer’s print copy of my book Genesis File will be available and I’ll be happy to share a complementary copy with you if you desire. Meanwhile, check out whe http://www.GenesisFile.com website which contains previews of the book along with supporting materials, including a section entitled Blue Ribbon Science. You’ll see a picture of Wes with some of his thoughts along with a variety of views from a cross-section of other scientists. I told Wes I planned to invite you to contribute a page with your picture, highlighting the primary academic reason you chose to reject evolution.

Since this site and my own writing is a non-sectarian voice reaching out to the general public, rather than an audience of scientists, I try to write with my own “magazine style” while trying to avoid sounding like a retired lawyer resorting to “whereas,” etc. If you accept this invite to write a few words, you will want to keep this hopefully “easy to read” format in mind.

The recorder article was careful not to mention any problems with evolutionism at LSU – or Bradley’s public statements to the press on that subject, or any parent or student’s complaints on that subject.

In the sugar coated summary the Pacific Union had an opportunity to proclaim to all Pacific Union Seventh-day Adventists that “Faculty and Staff at LSU accept all Seventh-day Adventist doctrines and fully support the Bible record of an actual 7 day creation week less than 10,000 years ago”.

But that would have been less than honest. So thankfully they did not make such a statement.

Instead of going “there” – the Recorder carefully crafted the following statement for general consumption by Pacific Union constituents.

“The La Sierra biology faculty have faith that God is their Creator and Sustainer,” said James Wilson, Ph.D., department chair. “Each faculty member understands the important responsibility to facilitate broad education in biology in ways that embrace the Adventist perspective of God as the Creator of all things.”

And instead of referencing Ellen White’s clearly “I was SHOWN” statements found in 3SG 90-91 regrading this very subject (evolutionism vs God’s Word) the Recorder notes this part of the LSU board action seeking to coopt support from Ellen White for their actions.

â€¢Affirming that both academic responsibility and commitment to Adventist beliefs are important parts of a vibrant university, as articulated in Ellen White’s statement “It is the work of true education to … train the youth to be thinkers and not mere reflectors of other men’s thought” (Education, p. 17).

For the informed Pacific Union Conference reader – the between-the-lines Pacific Union position “appears to be” that infecting an SDA instituion with the origins doctrine of evolutionism is the work of “thinkers” but holding to both pure science and sound exegetical Bible interpretation on the subject of origins is “mere reflectors of other men’s thought”.

For the less-than-informed reader – I think the entire article is supposed to “give the impression” that LSU has no evolution problem and is teaching creation as the right answer.

Oh the many insights into the Pacific Union thinking on this issue that are to be gained from a careul review of that summary article.

When consideration is given to man’s opportunities for research; how brief his life; how limited his sphere of action; how restricted his vision; how frequent and how great the errors in his conclusions, especially as concerns the events thought to antedate Bible history; how often the supposed deductions of science are revised or cast aside; with what readiness the assumed period of the earth’s development is from time to time increased or diminished by millions of years; and how the theories advanced by different scientists conflict with one another, –considering all this, shall we, for the privilege of tracing our descent from germs and mollusks and apes, consent to cast away that statement of Holy Writ, so grand in its simplicity, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him”? Genesis 1:27. Shall we reject that genealogical record,–prouder than any treasured in the courts of kings,–“which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God”? Luke 3:38.

Pacific Union Recorder: â€œThe La Sierra biology faculty have faith that God is their Creator and Sustainer,â€ said James Wilson, Ph.D., department chair. â€œEach faculty member understands the important responsibility to facilitate broad education in biology in ways that embrace the Adventist perspective of God as the Creator of all things.â€

Time and again I’ve heard this very same line from the leadership of LSU – “We all believe in God as the Creator here at LSU.” Geraty told me this the first time I spoke at LSU some 5 years ago now. Wisbey has used this very same line many times himself. The problem is that many of LSU’s science professors, while believing in God, don’t believe that he created all life on this planet in 6 literal days just a few thousand years ago. They believe that God first created life on this planet a few billion years ago and that these early forms of primitive life gradually evolved, in a Darwinian manner, over eons of time until mankind finally arrived on the scene a few million years ago.

This is what many believe at LSU and are teaching to their students as the gospel truth. This is the type of “Creator” in which they believe – – not even close to the type of Creator God presented in the fundamental beliefs of the SDA Church as an organization. These professors are clearly and unabashadly theistic evolutionists who strongly and consistently oppose the SDA idea of a literal creation week in their classrooms – calling those who do believe in such an antiquated notion that “lunatic fringe” in both the classroom and in public press.

So, in short, I find such statements published by LSU and now the Pacific Union Recorder highly disingenuous if not deliberately deceptive. Larry Becker knows full well what people will think when they read his article – They will think that LSU’s science professors are actually only teaching “about” the mainstream theory of evolution, but do not actually believe it personally and are not really promoting it as truth to their students. That is the impression given by Becker’s article – an impression that Becker himself has to know is very far from the true situation at LSU.

Such deceptive tactics are much worse that the actual practice of promoting mainstream evolutionary theories at LSU. It would be far better for LSU’s leadership to simply come clean and openly admit what their own professors do in fact believe and teach their students on the Church’s dime. Why this need to misdirect future parents, students, and the Church constituency at large? – with carefully chosen words that are calculated to cloud the truth rather than to reveal it?

For a summary of the current situation at LSU see the following open letter:

I didn’t have the “privilege” of attending SDA schools throughout my educational experience. I attended mostly public institutions where I KNEW that I would be taught evolutionary theory in certain classes. When you know that you will be taught this then you can be on your guard but when you are attending an institution that can be honestly assumed to be of a certain theology then all the more insidious is the work of those who would have us believe that they are of the same belief when they are not. Christ warned us of those who would come in not sparing the flock, wolves dressed in sheep clothing, bringing in damnable heresies…
Acts 20:28-30 Matt 7:15 2Peter 2:1-3

The following excerpt from the President of LSU letter to the Faculty, Staff, Board of trustees, and Leadership team dated May 18, 2009 I find sadly intriguing:
“We expect that students will be introduced to the prevailing scientific views within a supportive classroom environment that values the Seventh-day Adventist Churchâ€™s contribution to the understanding of biblical creation. It is our commitment to our students and to their families that our professors will continue to support learning and encourage conversation in a spirit of openness. In this way we live out our universityâ€™s commitment to responsibly address difficult issues and our willingness to consider a variety of views. This grows from our churchâ€™s commitment to ever be open to new light.”

This has the implication that other “scientific findings” will wend their way into our institutions and be taught to our children. Sociology is a science that deals with the framework of the family and the individual. Will we in our “commitment to ever be open to new light’ and ‘willingness to consider a variety of views” lead us to teach such views as healthy monogamous homosexuality, bisexuality and all that pertains to these topics? These are prevailing scientific views in the field of social science just as evolution is in the field of biology. Will the Religion Department start teaching a ‘variety of views’ such as other religious beliefs including witchcraft? These are just a few of the issues that can and will come up in our institutions if we take the stance of which President Randal Wisbey has apparently taken. When it comes to God’s word may we be ever true even if it means being closed minded and lunatic fringe.
May God be merciful and forgive us for our vanity and pride.

Rose – you bring up some very good points. Certainly a “unique element” the all-for-evolutionism downward slide at LSU is that Adventists students can see “the model” of how an Adventist can compromise acceptance of the Word of God as well as adherance to sound scientific methods and objective thinking — all exhanged for blind faith in evolutionism.

While public universities can teach that same devotion to evolutionism for our SDA students – they cannot so easily “model for them” the way an Adventist can engage in the compromise and still be regarded as a thought leader within the Adventist community.

Rose said –

This has the implication that other â€œscientific findingsâ€ will wend their way into our institutions and be taught to our children. Sociology is a science that deals with the framework of the family and the individual. Will we in our â€œcommitment to ever be open to new lightâ€™ and â€˜willingness to consider a variety of viewsâ€ lead us to teach such views as healthy monogamous homosexuality, bisexuality and all that pertains to these topics? These are prevailing scientific views in the field of social science just as evolution is in the field of biology.

That wall was already breached by LSU’s “Theologian in Residence” Fritz Guy in one of his recent books promoting that very thing.

As I read all that is happening both within and without the confines of LSU and the larger SDA Church at large really leave me quite frankly very angry with LSU, staff and that would include Mr. Wisbey that in my own opinion needs to be physically removed from LSU as much as do the Professors teaching Evolutionary Theory. I would challenge any of they’re Biology Professors to Prove as an absolute undeniable and unrefutable fact that any of what evolution teaches is fact. In fact I demand that they prove it as absolute fact; if they are so brazen to teach it as such then prove it and further more if these professors continue in there practice then they should be fired for stealing church money because that is what they are really doing in falsifying what they agreed to the church to teach compared to what they are teaching now. I think that if they continue that not only should these would-be-jesuits continue to spue there venomous lies about against God and His creative abilities that they should not only be fired but disfellowshipped from the SDA Church and if LSU continues to back them up that they the school should be no longer accepted as a church institution and therefore should find there own way to finance their institution and become a secular one. They to me are an absolute afront to God and His Church. I also believe that if our General Conference as well as Union and local Conferences do not stand up against this evil that our Tithe money should be withheld as a denomination until they do what is right according to both God and His Holy Word. Without Tithe that institution would then have to face the wirlwind head on and either repent, come clean, and turn in the right direction or be dissolved once and for all. Yes I am man and very upset with both our leaderships failure to stand up for what is Right not to mention God’s Word and for LSU for its failure to teach what we believe as a denomination to the rest of the world. Jesus said it Himself “If you deny me before the world, I will deny you before my Father in Heaven.” I would say that both are doing this at this time meaning both LSU and the General Conference. It makes me not asshamed of God but definately asshamed of His People on Earth in falsifying His devine charactor before the world. What an absolute joke and tranvisty.
I am a Seventh-day Adventist in Bend, Oregon

I appreciate the letter written by Mr. Johns. This morning during family worship we read: “The infidel supposition, that the events of the first week required seven vast, indefinite periods for their accomplishment, strikes directly at the foundation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. It makes indefinite and obscure that which God has made very plain. It is the worst kind of infidelity; for with many who profess to believe the record of Creation, it is infidelity in disguise.” from To Be Like Jesus, p. 153 or Signs of the Times, Mar. 20, 1879.